The Wars of the Champion
by The Son of War
Summary: After becoming the Champion of Unova, Ash Ketchum disappeared. Five years later he returns after a series of events that have left a giant impact on his life. War has changed him, and he has unlocked his aura. How will others react to his sudden return?
1. Chapter 1

**Well here you go, Chapter One of "The War of the Champion" reborn, I hope you enjoy**

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The following in inscribed on The Great Wall, located in the Historical Wing in The Temple of Aura:

_And it is said, in time it will appear as if Aura is dying,_

_And the people will loose faith in the Guardians,_

_And the True Warriors will die out,_

_And those who still fight their own kind will not know what they fight for,_

_And Princes will become corrupt,_

_And fail to protect those he swore he would,_

_And those loyal will be hid away,_

_And be cursed, and robbed,_

_And as the Power given to Man by Mew is blackened,_

_A light will find it's way back in,_

_As the First of the Last turns the Ash,_

_Back into Fire!_

"This is the last thing scribed on the wall within the last eight hundred years." The woman who spoke was tall and slender with dark blue hair, with glasses resting on her nose, she wore a knee length skirt and a white blouse, giving her a professional look to her. She looked again at the group of students she was giving a tour to. "The man who wrote this was King Silus, who is known in history for being a Scholar, and well understanding in all forms of Aura." She paused again as a boy in the back raised his hand. She peered at him over her glasses. He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, and seemed like he hadn't eaten nearly enough in his life. "Yes," she said, pointing to him.

"I like, don't completely understand what this is supposed to mean, like, what's this 'Power' Mew gave to Man?"

The woman nodded slightly at the question before answering. "Most people don't understand, and there are still parts we don't even understand. The part that refers to the Power Mew gave to Man is just another way to describe Aura in general, and when it's described as being blackened, it's most likely referring to the Dark Aura's, who are Aura Users who have a corrupted Aura. The line that talks about "Those fighting their own kind" is describing the war between the Light and Dark Aura's, but the part that doesn't make sense it when it says they don't know what they fight for."

The next one to raise their hand was a girl, with large round glasses, who seemed to be slightly younger than the rest. "So was this King then, an Aura Guardian?"

The guide smiled at the girl and simply shook her head. "Actually no, all Kings and Queens who sit on the throne here in the temple are Aura Warriors." Seeing the confusion in the boys eyes she continued. "There are more types of Aura users than just Guardians. There are many, and even today we find some that are different than others. The Aura Warriors are just one race, and they're probably the most complicated."

"What's so special about them?" This cam from a boy, slightly older than the rest, who was standing slightly off from every one else.

The guide looked at the boy and smiled, and said one word: "Everything."

* * *

Western Shore of Almia

Screaming. That's all the Aura Guardian could hear over the loud ringing in his ears. A mortar had landed behind him and the other three Guardians with him, and now he was on the ground, face first, looking up to observe his surrounding, to his left he saw his mentor Sir Riley, and the other two Guardians Dirk and Stephan, all of them unconscious. Straight ahead of him he saw his trusty Pikachu, being protected by an aura shield by his faithful Lucario, who was also protected. As he stood up he heard Lucario's voice in his head. **I told you, you should have stayed with me, I can protect you.**

The Guardian looked at the Pokémon with annoyed eyes. **I can take care of myself thank you.**

**Apparently not.**

The man smiled **Apparently not.**

He slowly got back up, but gasped as he felt a sharp pain in his side. Pikachu jumped to his side pointing at a piece of metal that was sticking out. "Pika!"

"It's all right Pikachu," he said, grabbing the end of it. "It's just a little piece of shrapnel, AHHH," as he pulled it out he realized it was no "little" piece of shrapnel.

**Master, they're coming! ** Lucario ran up the pile of rocks they had been using for cover. They're almost here!

"I gotcha, I gotcha!" The man stood up again and tossed the six inch piece of metal to the side, still dripping in blood. He looked over to where his fellow Guardians were. "We can't leave them! We'll have to stay until Gryder gets here!"

Pikachu and Lucario looked at each other, before nodding in agreement. "Good, now lets continue this party." As he reached the top of the mound he placed his palms together, and motioned for Lucario to do the same. What he saw when he looked up would make most men tremble, but not him, not an Aura Guardian. Hundreds of Dark Aura's were charging towards were he was standing. All of them armed with rifles and many holding a glowing ball of red and black in their hands. The man looked over again to his blue partner and nodded. He then turned to Pikachu, who was now on his shoulder, ready for anything.

Tremor ran through his hands, as an orb of a sapphire blue color formed in his hands. As the sphere grew he spread his hands farther and farther apart, until they were about a foot and a half apart. As the sphere finally settled he looked at Lucario who was now at the same stage as him. Ready, the man thought to himself. They both took a deep breath and in unison threw the spheres at the rapidly approaching hoard. "NOW!" He shouted, and at his command Pikachu released an electric attack into one of the orbs, which then leaped over to the other, creating a barrier between the two.

As the combination of the two Aura Spheres and electricity sped towards the Dark Aura's, few hesitated, but as the attack smashed into their lines, most of them wished they had. The Spheres exploded on impact, leaving a gruesome burn on their victims, and as the electricity ran through the bodies of many of them, the smell of burnt flesh could be noticed in the air.

More screams, the powerful man thought to himself. As he looked over the pile of men he had just killed, he knew it wasn't over. He reached his right hand to his left hip, placing it on the hilt of the long sword he was carrying, with his left hand he grasped the magnum that was holstered on his thigh. From a distance it was a magnificent sight, the Guardian with his faithful companions, ready for battle, garbed in blue and a feathered black hat, with silver armor on his chest and legs. His raven hair could be seen underneath his hat and he reached about six feet two inches and was well built, conditioned as a true warrior. So was it in the eyes of Gryder the Aura Warrior.

The man looked up at the fast approaching helicopter. When it reached him, he heard a series of commands from open compartment, before five heavily armored men dropped twenty feet from the chopper with a loud CLANG! One was more heavily armored than the others and was the first to approach him. The armor was a heavy one, designed specifically to be used in a large scale battle, like this one. The metal covered his entire body and required specific equipment to take off and put it pack on. On this head he wore a helmet with a thick red visor covering his face. On his back there was a large great sword, with two long swords crossed over them. The four men with him were similarly armored, but with a light set and carried various weapons.

The Guardian walked towards them and met with the one who was obviously the leader and smiled. "Gryder, what took you so long?"

Through his helmet Gryder could be heard laughing. He took it off before giving the Guardian a pat on the shoulder, "What's the report?" He had a handsome face and looked to be in his mid twenties. He was well built and reached six feet and four inches, not counting his armor.

"Things aren't going too well, Riley and the others are unconscious, and our troops have been dropping by the dozen. We've been holding off for the last three hours, but we aren't doing too hot. It'd be nice to know where you've been." The Guardian looked at Gryder with a grim face.

"Cassandra had us check on something, but as soon we heard about the attack we came here, but that's for another time. Two of my men will stay back and cover Riley until he's back on his feet, in the mean time we're going to join the rest of the troops."

"Got it, let's go!" As they ran over the mount the Guardian saw that the survivors of the most recent attack were regrouping. He aimed his magnum and took out three, but before he could fire again, Gryder (who had his helmet back on) and his Gallade (Who had just been released out of his Pokeball) charged ahead. Gallade took struck down multiple with a matter of seconds with his swift blades on his arms, which were now stained with blood. Gryder had unsheathed his great sword and was wielding it with amazing grace and ease, for such an unbalanced weapon. It didn't take long to finish up the remaining Dark Aura's so they were soon on their way again.

"There!" Said the Guardian as he pointed up towards a large black pillar sticking out of the sea, about fifty feet from shore. "That's where Vancor is!"

Gryder nodded, "Then that's where we're going!" As they reached the shore another group of Dark Aura's ran towards them launching Dark Aura Spheres at them. Being that it was out of ammo, the Guardian tossed his magnum aside and charged, blocking the spheres as he did so. Another was launched at him, but he leaned back and slid on his knees, dodging it with grace before springing back up and driving his sword into the first opponent he came to. He pulled his blade out of the mans chest just to strike down another, and another, until there was no one else in his path and the man Pikachu was electrocuting stopped screaming. He turned and looked over the carnage he had just created, and looked up at Gryder as he approached, stepping over bodies. "Before you ask, no, it never gets easier to do. It just get's easier to ignore what you're doing."

The man in blue looked down and sighed. "I'm not sure that's a good thing either."

"No, but you'll go insane if you don't. And if we didn't kill, it'd be a lot harder to stop Vancor. Speaking of which we need to keep going, we're almost there."

They continued on, and finally were able to reach the bridge leading to the base of the pillar, but to their surprise, their weren't any Dark Aura's guarding it. Before anyone in the group could question it though, they heard a noise. A noise that first sounded like a great rock, cracking down the middle, but then it was silent, before the sound of an explosion erupted in the air, followed by the screams of thousands of soldiers. The Guardian was the first to ask the question everyone was thinking. "What was that?"

Gryder turned his head towards where the sound came from, on the other side of the cliff further down the beach. "I'm not sure, but I have a feeling we need to get to the top of that pillar!" To say they ran across the bridge would be an understatement, each step they took the mysterious power, Pokémon, or creature seemed to be getting closer and closer. Whatever it was it seemed to get to the to first. They were still sprinting up the spiral leading to the top, when they heard a deep voice, not a cruel voice, but one that was harsh, but just. When they had almost reached the top, there was another explosion, mixed in with the yelling of a man, a man in pain.

As they finally reached the top, they all stopped dead in their tracks and were blinded by light.

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**Well there you have it, I hoped you enjoyed it and noted that it was considerably longer than the chapter's of the last version. And remember, the Vote on weather Ash should be paired with is still going on until next Wednesday. Who will it be? May? or Misty?**

**Thank you**

**The Son of War**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am deeply sorry for the time it took to upload this chapter! There were a series of complications that occurred, but you don't want excuses, you want a story, so without any further ado, here's Chapter 2**

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**Scarlet City, Hoenn**

Scarlet City. One of the largest cities in the world. It has building taller than thought possible, and more beautiful than anyone could imagine. It had battle stadiums that were always in use, and it often held one of the largest Pokémon tournaments in the world. It was the home to museums, aquariums, amusement parks, and high businesses, but the jewel of the city was nothing of the sorts.

In the middle of the large city there is a small forest, a forest with perfect trees, and flowers, and is home to many types of Pokémon. In the center of this forest there sat The Temple of Aura. The temple is indeed a sight to behold. The outside was built with pure white granite, with towers that stood at the end of each of the eight wings, and a ninth wing where the entrance was. There were multiple halls connecting the eight corridors, making it slightly resemble a spider web from an aerial view. In the middle there was another tower, larger and taller than all of the others.

The inhabitants of the temple included thousands of Aura Users of all types. There were Aura Guardians, both active and retired from duty, and those training to become one. Others included scholars, teachers, and other Aura Users who had been rejected by society do to their strange gifts and were learning to control them. The list of the different Users is endless, but the one that watched over them all was an Aura Warrior, Queen Cassandra.

Queen Cassandra ruled over the Temple (Which could be considered it's own region, with Hoenn Government having no say in their laws and customs) with a Counsel of Aura Users. She was a dearly loved Queen. She put the people before any of her own personal desires, and treated them as if they were her own children. It was not an uncommon thing to hear "Long live Queen Cassandra" within the Temple walls whenever she was seen.

**This beautiful city, my friends, is where our story continues...**

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As The Aura Guardian, with Pikachu on his shoulder and Lucario at left his side, and nine other Aura Users entered the gates to the Temple of Aura, they were greeted by the warm welcome of trumpets and cheers. All throughout the entrance corridor there were people cheering, and waiving their arms, wanting to catch a glimpse of the group that ended the war. To his right stood Sir Riley, with his hat torn, and blood dried on his forehead. Behind them stood the other two Guardians, who were followed by Gryder's squad, who was now in front of them taking the lead, holding his helmet under his arm.

They walked down a red carpet, people crowded on either side. At the end of the carpet there stood the throne, with an advisor on each side. Before the throne there were statues of knights and warriors of old, with swords drawn and heads bent forward in humility. The throne it self was made of white granite, much like the temple, with rests for the arms. The front of the rests were lined with various jewels, but none matched the jewels above the headrest. It was a crystal, perfectly carved so that there were no cutting marks, but one of the most amazing features about it was the veins of silver that ran on the inside and outside. But the most eye catching thing in the entire room, was Queen Cassandra.

There she sat in her throne, wearing a light blue dress that covered her feet. Her brunette hair shined from the light coming down from above, which also reflected off of the silver circlet that sat on her head. Some would describe her as the most beautiful creature in the world (**but as you will see in later chapters there's someone, not going to name names, who will think that someone else, still not going to name names, is the most deserving of that title. Anyhow moving on**).

When the group of heros approached the throne they stopped and all dropped to one knee, and stared at the floor in front of them. As Queen Cassandra rose the crowd became silent, not a single child was heard whining. She walked down the steps of her throne and smiled at the group. "Rise," she spoke, and they obeyed. "You have done the world a great service," she said looking into their eyes. "You have ended a war, and for that we are all truly grateful. You have my utmost respect, and shall be rewarded well." She returned to the throne and turned, but before she sat she addressed each Aura User Individually.

"Gryder, my friend, stay with you're family, rest for as long as you please. And you, Ash Ketchum." The man looked up into the Queens eyes. "Sir Ash Ketchum, son of Sir Aaron Ketchum. I thank you for your years of service, but I believe you have been to far away from home for to long, and I think it's time you returned."

Ash bent his head down slightly, "Thank you My Lady. Thank you very much."

What Cassandra said to the other Users, Ash couldn't remember. They awarded gold medals, and with that the crowd cheered, and after a short time, exited the hall. Riley walked up to Ash who was now leaning on a nearby pillar, scratching behind Pikachu's ear (Lucario had returned to his ball after the ceremony). "When I started training you four years ago I knew you would be great, but I didn't think you would stop a war."

Ash looked up with a smile on his face. "Thanks, but I didn't do a whole lot compared to Gryder and the others."

At that comment Riley just laughed. "Please Ash, don't be so modest. From what happened before I was knocked out, and from what Gryder told me, you did quite a bit. And don't you just like the sound of it? Sir Ash Ketchum slayer of General Vancor, leader of the Dark Aura Army. And you have a brilliant teacher to thank for it."

Ash smiled back. "Yeah you're right, Gryder did teach me a lot."

"Well now let's be nice," Riley said defensively. They continued their little banter when Riley looked up at Pikachu. "So when are you going to head home?" He asked as he looked back over to Ash.

Ash looked down in thought. "That's the thing, I don't know if I'm going ba-OUCH! What was that for?" Asked the stunned Ash, who was now rubbing his cheek where Riley had hit him. Pikachu simply laughed on his master's shoulder, and did an impression of how stupid he looked. Ash simply looked at the rodent and mouthed the word "Traitor."

Riley rubbed the back of his hand softly. "You've been gone Six years, been trained in aura, caught several more Pokémon, trained them so they are some of the most powerful of their kind, seen combat and ended a war, and now when you have the opportunity to go home, share what you've learned and start entering leagues and tournaments again, you're having thoughts about not going." Riley finished shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know how I'll face everybody. I just suddenly reappear after leaving without a word and expect everything to go back to the way things were? Yeah, I don't think so." Ash looked back at Pikachu with sadness in his eyes.

Riley placed his hand on Ash's shoulder. "I never said everything would go back to the way it was, and at first it might be difficult but I'm sure they would rather see you as you are now than never at all. You're going to have to do it sooner or later, and I'd do it sooner before conditions go bad."

Ash nodded his head and looked Riley in the eye. "You think so?"

"I know so. And it happens that you were ordered to go home"

Ash turned back to his yellow friend. "What do you think Pikachu? Ready to go home?"

"Pika, pika pi!" Said Pikachu who was nodding excitedly.

"Well that's it then, we're going home, but first I need to ask a few questions."

* * *

The sound of machinery filled the room as Ash, now dressed in a black t-shirt and baggy jeans, walked into the Armory. He looked around before seeing who he was looking for. Gryder stood on a pad with his arms raised and three people surrounding him all with drills, unscrewing the many bolts keeping his heavy armor on. Ash shook his head in admiration. "I know I've said this before, but I really need to get a set of that sometime."

Gryder laughed, and as the last piece of armor was lifted off of him he stepped forward off the pad, now only in a black jumpsuit. Without his giant suite is was revealed that although he was still very well built, that he wasn't as big as most would think. "Well if you can find someone with the skill who can weld a light enough metal that you can wear, let me know."

"Well I can dream can't I?"

Gryder let out a low laugh, "Yeah I guess you can. Aren't you supposed to be headed home about now?"

Ash looked at him hesitantly. "Well yeah I was, or I am, but during the ceremony I realized something."

"And what was that?"

"I realized that, I don't remember killing Vancor."

Gryder's expression turned to curiosity. "Now that you mention it, neither do I."

"I know that it was my sword that was in his chest, but I don't remember any of it, and I'm not sure it was me at all."

Gryder now paced back and fourth in front of Ash. "I'll see if I can scavenge any footage that may have caught it on tape, if something happened to us down there that wiped our memory, it might mean that there's still a threat coming from the Dark Aura's."

"Alright, I'll talk to anyone else that was there and see if they remember any-"

Gryder held up a hand, not letting Ash finish. "No you won't. You're going to go home. You're going to see your mom and your friends again, and you're going to have a new life." Ash lifted a finger to protest, but before he could speak Gryder continued. "I'll let you know if I find anything out, but you'll have to be patient."

"Ah, alright. I guess this is goodbye then isn't it."

"For now, yes." Gryder put his hand in a fist and placed it over his chest. "It's been an honor, Sir Ash Ketchum."

Ash returned the gesture and looked the tall man in the eye. "Likewise." And with that the Aura Guardian walked through the double doors out of the armory.

Gryder watched as the young Guardian left. "So long then my friend, but I have a feeling we'll meet again soon."

* * *

A Tailow chirped in a tree that hung over the pond Ash was sitting beside. This was his favorite place to come to in the forest surrounding the temple. It was peaceful, with no one around, allowing him to think. What he thought about now was how the people from his past would welcome him when he returned. He didn't know how he should approach them. He looked down to Pikachu who was resting at his side. "Well Pikachu, I guess we'll just have to figure things out as we go."

Pikachu looked at him and nodded his head before letting out a "Pika."

Ash stood up and looked at the pond one last time. "This is it then." He walked over to the base of the tree that was near by and picked up his backpack, swinging it over his shoulder. Out of the bag he pulled out a red and white orb. "Charizard!" A red light came from the Pokéball and the Fire Dragon appeared. Pikachu rushed to Ash's shoulder before he climbed onto the dragon.

Ash gently patted Charizard on the neck and looked up to the sky. "Let's go home."

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**Once again I deeply apologize for taking this long and I will do my best to post the next chapter as quickly as possible. Anyhow, onto business. The last poll was mostly unanimous that Ash should be paired with May. For those of you who voted for Misty I apologize, but hopefully you will enjoy who she is paired with (You may feel free to guess, it's not that hard of one). The next part of the story I would like you to vote on is who Brock will be paired with. She can't be completely insane, and must be within reason.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**The Son of War**


	3. Chapter 3

The sun shone down on a beautiful Wednesday morning as a Pidgeotto cut through the air, enjoying his flight. It was as ordinary as any other day for him, until he felt something, but he wasn't sure what it was. It felt like something vibrating in the air. As he contemplated what it could be the vibration turned to sound, like wings beating through the air.

The bird was confused on what it could be, but it hit him when he was forced down to the earth as a Charizard rushed over him.

"Set down over there Charizard!" Who obeyed and flew to where his master was pointing, a small clearing near the road where a new trainer might have his first battle.

The fire dragon landed with a loud THUD, shaking the ground under his feet. Ash hopped off of his companion, with Pikachu on his shoulder and patted him on the neck. "Thanks buddy, now why don't you take a break."

The dragon simply nodded before a red light absorbed and returned him to his Pokéball. Ash stood in the same place for a few moments to stretch, Pikachu mimicking his actions. Days riding on Charizard's back taught him he had more places to be sore than he realized.

"Alright Pi, we're almost there!" As Ash and Pikachu walked down the road, memories flooded through his mind. All the times he walked this road... He had started his adventures, and ended them, all on this road.

He had lost track of time daydreaming, about what his reunion might be like, when suddenly the trees around him were gone, and he was looking down on his home, Pallet Town.

A smile came across his face as he studied his home. It had grown quite a bit in the last ten years, when left on his Journey with Pikachu. More and more people had moved in, especially after he had competed in major compititions, specifically five years before when he competed in the Unova league.

He slowly took a step forward, and then another, and another, and another, until he was back at a normal pace, which quickened as he neared the first street in the town.

He stepped on the sidewalk when he passed what was a newly opened Café ("New" meaning opened after he left). A skinny man in a white suit with blonde hair stood up startled when he saw the man in a black shirt and saggy jeans walk by. He literally sprinted up to Ash and grabbed his hand shaking it.

"Howdy thar mister! I'm Donald, the owner of this fine establishment, and I see you just happens to has yar vury own Pikachu!" The man said pointing to Pikachu who had a puzzled look on his face.

Ash looked skeptically at the man. "Yes, what of it?"

"Well as ya may know the Great, the Fantastic, the Undefeatable, Ashton Ketchum is from this fine little town, and he had a Pikachu! So we give a little special to aaaaannnnnyyyyone, who that's right! Has a Pikachu!"

"Really? Why, who was he?" Ash asked, with a small smile forming on his lips.

Donald's eyes grew large and his jaw dropped. Locals who were regular customers to the Café looked up from their business in surprise. "Well um..." Donald fumbled with his words, trying to get a hold of the situation. "Well he was a, uh, a great trainer from this place. But any way there's a little special for anyone with a Pikachu! Even if they're uniformed. Any one item off the menu, free of any, and I mean any, charge."

Ash nodded his head a few times. "Well that's very nice, but I'm a little busy now, so is it alright if I take you up on that in the morning?"

"Yes sir, yes et is. I'll see you in the marnin then." Donald waved to the stranger who turned and continued on his way. He turned to one of his customers and shook his head. "Can you believe some of these people?"

As Ash and Pikachu walked down the street they couldn't help but laugh. "Can you believe this Pikachu? We're practically worshiped here! Oh, look at that!" He said pointing to a window of the store they were passing. "We're bobble-heads!"

"Pika Pi!"

"Oh look, they even have one of Charizard and the others!" Down the Main Street there was more merchandise to see similar to the bobble-heads, but finally, they came to the street he lived on. This was what seemed familiar to him. Ash's heart began to pound faster and faster as he approached his house. "All of that training we had Pikachu. All of that training, and none of helped to prepare us for this."

* * *

Delia Ketchum smiled as she looked out the window. "What a lovely day, don't you think Mr. Mime?"

"Mime mime!"

"I agree it's a perfect day to garden." Smile still on her face, she walked over to the coat closet were she kept the basket with her gardening tools in it, she had just picked it up when she heard a knock at the door. "Hmm, I wonder who that could be. Maybe it's Samuel come to say hello."

She walked over to the door, basket still in hand, and opened it, to find a handsome stranger, several inches taller than her, with Raven hair standing there. He seemed to be a boy, no older than twenty. He stood there for a moment seeming to choke on words, but there was something extremely familiar about him. She had almost figured it out too, before he finally spoke.

"I... I'm home Mom..."

The basket dropped to the ground as Delia's hands covered her mouth, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm home mom. I'm home." He repeated again.

"Oh Ash!" She sprung forward throwing her arms around her son. "My boys home! My sweet boy."

"Pika!" Pikachu who had been behind Ash sprang up to her shoulder and began rubbing her cheek with his.

Tears rolled down Delia's cheeks as she laugh, and cried, and smiled. "And Pikachu too!"

"They told me you were dead, but I knew you just couldn't be." They had moved from the front door to the living room, where they now sat sipping on coffee (and Pikachu sucking on a ketchup bottle) as they sat on the couch. "A motherly instinct you could say."

"And you were right, I was just gone," Ash said sipping his coffee again.

Delia looked at her son with a sad face. "And you're not planning of leaving again are you?"

Ash shook his head. "No, actually I think I'm going to stay for a while, maybe even settle down."

Delia's face lit up with excitement. "Really? That would be amazing, living at home with your mommy again."

Ash shook his hand ferociously. "Woah there Mom. Maybe at first, but I think that since I'm a grown man I can get my own house soon."

His mom smiled. "Of course, then you can start looking for a girl, and give me grandchildren!"

"Mom..."

"Oh don't worry I'm just teasing. But you have to realize I am a mother who wishes these things. After all Brock even has a promising lady friend."

At this Ash burst out laughing, as did Pikachu. "Haha, Mom, you don't need to make jokes like that." Delia simply gave a settle 'mmhhmm'. Ash sat up it surprise. "Brock Harrison? Brock Stone Harrison? Is in a serious relationship? Where the girl flirts back with him?"

"Yes, yes, yes, and to your last question, yes."

Ash set his mug down. "With who?"

"Oh she's a nice girl, a bit quiet though. I've met her several times when they've come over for dinner. Her name's Lucy."

Ash lifted a finger in confusion. "Pike Queen Lucy the Frontier Brain?"

Delia smiled and nodded. "That's the one, but I think she's retired now and living in Pewter City."

"Well I think I'll go see them sometime soon. By the way, do you know the owner of the Café down on Main Street? He's in interesting man... Donald he said his name was."

"Oh you met him did you? It wouldn't surprise me if he has a shrine dedicated to you in his bedroom. Did he swoom when he saw you?"

"No I guess he didn't realize who I was, but he did insist on giving me a free meal because I had Pikachu with me. I was considering going in the morning."

"The food's good there, and the waitress is pretty, just in case you were wondering."

"No Mom, actually I wasn't."

"Of course you weren't, but I do know you've been wondering about a certain brunette from Hoenn," Delia said with a smile.

Ash looked down at the floor and sighed. "Actually yeah I had been a year or two back. I found out she was with Drew, and she was happy. So I never looked back again."

"Well Honey if it makes you feel any better they had a falling out a few months a ago and now she isn't exactly Drew's biggest fan."

"I don't think she's my biggest fan either, I was the one who left after all."

"But you came back. Give it a chance. She's come to visit a lot, I know she misses you. Give her a chance to let out her anger on you, but then I'm sure things will get better."

"That's assuming I survive her anger," Ash said with a smile on his face. He stood up, taking his mug and his mother's over to the kitchen sink to wash them. "If it's alright with you I'd like to go see Professor Oak today."

Delia walked into the kitchen with Pikachu in her arms, slowly stroking his back. "Of course, I'm just going to do a little bit of gardening with Mr. Mime."

Turning away from the sink he grabbed a towel and dried his hands. "Thanks Mom! I'll be back in a little bit," he said before kissing her on the forehead and rushing to the door, as Pikachu ran up to rest on his shoulder. "Love you!"

Delia shook her head as she watched him go. "Some parts of people never change."

* * *

Professor Samuel Oak looked up from his news paper as a tall man with raven hair in dark clothing walked through his lab door. "Why hello!" He said, as he stood up. "How may I help you?"

"Actually I was wondering if you could help me get my first Pokémon."

"Aren't you a bit old to be starting your Journey?" Professor Oak asked, looking at the man. There was something familiar about him that he just couldn't put his tongue on.

"If I come back in my Pajamas will you give me one?"

"Ash? By Mew it is you! Ash! Gary, Tracey, get in here!"

"Pika!" Said the little mouse who had been hiding behind Ash's back.

"Of course I didn't forget about you! Come in, come in!"

"What is it Professor?" The voice came from a young man, slightly older than Ash, wearing grey shorts a green shirt with a red band in his hair.

"Come in and say hello to an old friend of ours," said Professor Oak, gesturing for Tracey to sit down.

Tracey's face lit up when he saw the 'stranger'. "Ash your back!"

"I am indeed."

"What is it Gramps? Oh, hey Ash! Nice to see you, in person this time."

A confused Professor Oak looked at Gary. "What do you mean, 'this time'?"

It was Ash who answered. "We've talked a few times. He's been storing my Pokémon here for me when I wasn't using them."

"And you never thought to tell us?" Tracey asked, who was also staring at Gary.

"He made me swear not to tell, so I didn't."

"Why would you not tell us that Ash Ketchum wasn't dead?"

"Because I didn't want anyone to know," answered Ash. "It was better for their safety."

Now all heads turned to Ash in curiosity (Except for Gary). Tracey was the first to ask: "Where did you go?"

Ash gestured to the chairs. "We might want to sit down for this. When I left, I went to Scarlett City in Hoenn. When I was there I met up with Sir Riley, the Aura Guardian I met in Sinnoh. Well long story short, he trained me, and I ended up fighting in a war. It was too dangerous to let my identity slip, the people I was fighting may have tried to hunt down someone close to me."

"I see." Professor Oak nodded as he took in the information. "What did Sir Riley train you to do exactly?"

Ash hesitated for a moment, deciding what exactly he should tell them, for this occasion, he chose the truth. "I have the ability to use Aura. He trained me control and use it. And then he taught me to kill..."

"Gary you knew all of this?" Asked Tracey.

"Yeah I did. But like he said, it was dangerous so it was a need to know sort of thing."

"So being that you were in Scarlet City," began the Professor, "that means you were in the Temple of Aura doesn't it?"

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I even have my own room there that I can use when ever I go back."

"Incredible. I don't suppose you met an Aura Warrior did you?"

Once again Ash nodded. "Wait, what's an Aura Warrior?" Asked Tracey.

"They're a type of Aura user, but they're scattered across the world in hiding for some reason. I've met four, Gryder and his twin Children- Sira and Nathan, and the Queen Cassandra."

"I've seen Cassandra in a photo before," said Gary. "And she's pretty smoking Tracey. Any chance you could introduce me sometime Ashy boy?"

Ash shook his head as Gary called him 'that name'. "I wouldn't get your hopes up Gary, you're a little young for her."

"Oh please, she can't be more than five years older, that's not that bad."

"Actually she's more like fifty-five years older than you."

"WHAT?"

"Aura Warriors live to be several hundred years old," Ash said before laughing at his old friend.

They continued to talk, sharing stories and catching Ash up on what'd been going on in the last five years. Dawn had continued participating in contests, and had been spending quite a bit more time with Paul who as far as any of them knew was simply traveling through the regions. Brock had opened up a Pokémon hospital and daycare, and, as Ash had already known, had been dating Lucy for quite a long time. Max had started his journey and joined up with Ralts, who since then evolved into a Gallade. The bit of information Ash found most intriguing though is the amount of special time Misty and Tracey had been spending together.

"So then Ash, if you're staying here what are your plans?" Asked Professor Oak.

"Well I'm thinking some sort of battle arena where trainers can come and duel."

"Hmm. It's not a terrible idea, but there still aren't quite enough trainers that pass through here for that, just to battle each other. Maybe you could open up a gym here! I'm sure lots of trainers would travel here to duel you! maybe to receive an optional bonus badge before going to the Pokémon league."

"I never really thought of that option. And I kinda like the sound of it. Ash the gym leader. Or maybe even Master Ash."

Gary was the next to speak. "Yeah, you should submit the papers for it to the Indigo League, but it'll take a lot of preparation before you're able to open it up for battling."

"Yeah you're probably right, if I do it I might want to get started pretty soon then, I'm still not what you call a patient man."

They continued their story and joke telling until it was getting late. "I should be getting back home, Pikachu looks like he's about to fall asleep." The electric mouse was laying on the arm of the chair with his eyes closed.

Tracey looked at him and laughed. "It looks like Pikachu just did fall asleep."

"All the more reason to go then," he said standing up and picking up his small partner.

The other three men all stood up with him and walked him to the door. "Come by any time son," the Professor said opening up the door. "You're always welcome here."

"Thank you, I think I'll take you up on that offer." And with that he was gone, into the star covered night.

Ash looked up to the sky in wonder. 'The stars are beautiful tonight,' he thought to himself.

Little did he know, A certain Brunette in Hoenn was thinking the same thing.

* * *

**Well there you have it. To my disappointment only two people voted on who Brock should be with, but they voted for the same person and it was a good choice. Once again I thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, I would love to know what I'm doing well and what I can do better. Now the question I want to see if you can answer is this: What does the writing on the Wall from chapter one mean? It might be a little hard to completely figure out considering one of the major characters it involves has yet to be mentioned and introduced.**

**Thank you for reading,**  
**The Son of War**


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